Hey I did this a while a go for Specialized and thought I would share. #happyRiding

What bike(s) do you ride?

Specialized Era Carbon Comp

Very old Carrera road bike

– Favorite ride?

Wow, that’s a tough one there is so many! Locally to me I love riding around the South Downs exploring new trails and usually getting very lost!

I love being in the mountains and have spent a lot of time walking, climbing and now biking in Wales. There are so many trail centres and plenty of natural riding too if you know where to go.

My favourite trail centre at the moment is Afan Forest because you can easily link more than one trail together to make long rides.

Afan also packs in lots into its trails with technical rocky descents, big hard climbs, fun rooty singletrack through forests, board walks and stunning scenery where ever you look.

– Favorite food?

I love Greek and Italian food, there is nothing better than fresh pasta and pesto with some scrummy olives!

My favourite riding food is salted peanuts, or malt loaf. On long training rides I use nuts as a source of energy which is a change from sweet training ride food.

– How long have you been riding?

When I was growing up I used to go mountain biking with my Dad to Wales and around our local Dunwich Woods. When I was 10 I went to Slovakia on a mountain bike holiday which was really hard work, at times Dad had to tie a rope around my handle bars and help pull me up the hills. I loved the experience of being outside and the freedom of exploring trails. I then discovered horse riding and it wasn’t until 2012 (some 12 years later) when I was watching the Olympics at Hadleigh I felt inspired to get back on my bike and try racing.

– How did you get into it?

I got into racing when the Olympics came to London. I was watching the girl’s race at Hadleigh on the TV and was so inspired by these incredible riders that I wanted to try it myself. After my first race I was hooked and decided to set myself a goal, to see how far I could take cross-country racing.

– Who inspires you?

My parents have always been very inspiring to me both competing for Team GB in Judo and Canoeing. They have always taught me to go out and push myself for what I want to achieve.

From the world of cycling I find a lot of the women racing inspiring but lately watching and hearing about Annika Langvards training for the Cape Epic and how she runs up 16 flights of stairs in her local hospital 10 times has really helped to keep me going in my Trans Alp training.

– What kind of riding do you do?

Mountain biking is my passion and where I compete, but I enjoy the freedom of getting out on any bike, I just think it’s a great way to experience your surroundings and to be able to go places by your own steam.

– What’s your favourite thing about riding?

One of my favourite things about riding a bike is you see the world in a different way, on early morning training rides I often see deer, badgers and owls all creatures that you would usually never see in your car.

I love the freedom cycling brings when I clip into those pedals it’s just me, my bike and the trail, nothing else matters. My mind is clear from everything apart from what’s going on in front of me and I find that is a magical feeling.

– What’s your best cycling memory?

My best cycling memory has to be travelling around Scotland with my boyfriend Martyn ticking off as many trail centers as we could in a week.

There has been many from a coaching point of view the first time I taught a child to ride their bike with confidence.

– What’s your least favourite thing about cycling?

Working full time, like most people my training time is squished in around work. I am an early bird so tend to train around 6.30 before work. I actually love this time of day but when the wind is howling and its chucking it down or icy outside it makes training a lot harder, but it’s about having the resilience to get out, endure the bad weather and know when it comes to racing you will be stronger for it.

– What advice can you give to people starting out?

If you’re new to mountain biking I would suggest you go with friends who have some experience and head for either your local bridleways or a trail centre and try out green/blue graded trails.

The key things to mountain biking are:

momentum – speed can be your friend it’s going to help you when the ground is muddy or sandy so remember to keep the bike moving

look where you want to go – this sounds easy but when you start to progress onto steeper terrain or more committing trails the key is to look where you want the bike to go, looking down at the tree stump usually means you hit it!

gear selection – using your gears effectively makes climbing so much more enjoyable, don’t change down to your smallest gear as soon as you start going upwards, ‘reward’ yourself with a change down gear as you go up the hill this will make it easier going and again you will keep your momentum

Getting some coaching is always a good option as you will learn things correctly and stop any bad habits.

– What advice can you give to people who want to improve/ potentially start racing?

There are two options when you’re looking to race if you’re thinking you want to do it seriously you need to look at you strengths and weaknesses to choose the type of racing which will suit you, or if you’re just keen on mountain biking then just getting into cross country is the most accessible type of race with regional races all over the country for different abilities.

The best way to improve your riding or racing technique is to practice, analyse your strengths and weaknesses, then set yourself a plan of how to improve. Getting a coach is a great way to keep motivated and reach your goals.

– What’s made you want to do the Trans Alps?

In 2012 when I started racing I set myself a goal of a stage race. Now 4 years on I feel my fitness and ability is ready for such a challenge. My aim is to encourage and inspire other women to get outside and have adventures on bikes whether they’re big or small. I want to show that with hard work, determination and focus you can achieve your dreams.

– What will be your biggest challenge?

The Trans Alp will be a huge challenge both mentally and physically, we will be climbing over 17,000 m which is twice the height of Everest over 7 days in heat, so getting enough fluid will be really important. The altitude makes its harder work too and it’s something I can’t really train for in the UK.

Mentally getting up each day for 5/6 hours in the saddle is something I have not yet experienced, but something I can practice. Michelle my Trans Alp team mate and I will be going to Wales to do long rides over a few days to get an idea of how this will feel!

– Tips to improve confidence?

Look at how far you have come and what you have achieved, when you are faced with a new challenge look back at the last challenge and how you achieved it and think positively about how it will feel to overcome this new obstacle.

Please can you add these social details:

Follow Hannah’s journey to the Trans Alp and beyond on Instagram @hannahlifeon2wheels

I have been really impressed with the products I have tasted and this is no exception!

During my 3 hour training ride I used this as an energy snack. The session was mid to high intensity and I found I had to slow down to eat this bar. However the taste was brilliant a mixture of wholegrain oats, fruit pieces, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. It was the right balance of flavours and the mix sweet and savoury.

The texture was like a normal cereal bar and it was easy to chew when riding at a steady pace.

I found later during my ride that my energy levels had been maintained and I did not get a sugar rush or a low which was great. On long rides you want your fuelling to maintain your energy levels for the duration of your workout without major changes in your energy levels.

Nutritional Information:

Nutrition Information

per 100g

per bar (40 g)

Energy kJ (kcal)

1549 (367)

620 (147)

Fat

7,2 g

2,9 g

of which saturates

2,6 g

1,0 g

Carbohydrate

65 g

26 g

of which sugars

22 g

9,0 g

Fibre

5,8 g

2,3 g

Protein

7,2 g

2,9 g

Salt

0,33 g

0,13 g

Magnesium

180 mg

72,0 mg

(48%**)

(19%**)

I would recommend this bar for a pre-training snack and on long steady training rides its great to have as a crunchy snack.

Earlier in the year I took part in the Trans Alp bike race. For the race I rode the Specialized ERA Comp the women’s version of the Epic. It was a wonderful bike to ride and race great handing both down and up hill. The brain technology in the shock made for a super comfortable ride without loosing power going up hill.

Sorry for the long period of silence it has taken me some time to put my thoughts into sentence form!

Since competing the Trans Alp at the end of July life has been somewhat bizzare… I came back full of memories of the highs and lows and buzzing from achieving my dream to complete my first stage race.

Top of Umbrail Passe

The Trans Alp was a magical time where life was completely consumed by racing. The year leading up had also been consumed by training, after a week of re-telling the story and the excitement that we had achieved it, I hit the ‘what happens next’ wall. I found it difficult to describe how I was feeling, but down pretty much covers it, after such a high it was a massive low and for a good few weeks I couldn’t get on my bike for the shear fact that I didn’t know why.

I decided to take the pressure off trying to find the next thing and spend some time enjoying cycling with friends and family which was fun.

Portsmouth ride with Lauren

Getting out and having some chilled time on my bike was great and gave me time to clear my head and think about what was next.

After a coffee ride with my Mum one day she said why don’t we do a challenge together! after lots of discussion we have now decided to do London to Paris next year which I am super excited about!

Mum and I riding along to South Cove, Lowestoft

Alongside this my plan is to tackle another stage race. I would love to try the Trans Pyrenees or Swiss epic, so whats next?

I am going back to the gym to build my all over body strength for a few months before putting in the miles starts again.

Thanks to all my friends and family and sponsors for your support over the years.

Today was a mixture of emotions standing on the start line I felt elated to have made it this far, with no serious mechanicals for both me and the bike! But unhappy that it was to be the last 54 km ride in this beautiful race.

After a dry start leaving Trento, we started the gradual climb up from 200m to 1700m. The climb started on road turning to forest tracks and gravel paths as we steadily made it to the top. I was feeling great today, no aches and pains and was actually enjoying this demanding climb. (Clearly I’m getting used to the Alps!) Some sections were pretty steep and with all the rain over night rather slippy too and had to be walked. I joined a trail of silent cyclists pushing their bikes with a feeling of accomplishment that we all shared being there on the final day. Once the terrain was rideable I enjoyed the forest trails which were very like home in a way and the rain was certainly not dampening my state of mind as I looked for the lines ahead. The Era has been fantastic, apart from a few gearing issues caused by the 42t sprocket I put on for climbing. The low stand-over height and rear shock have given me confidence to try lines and go down singletrack which I know I would usually not do. I have relished in pushing myself out of my comfort zone and have found this whole week has been one long learning curve on bike handling, climbing, scrambling, nutrition and positive mental attitude!

The rain soon set in hard and I was so glad to have my Gore Tex jacket. The feed station at 19km was full of chilly cyclists sipping hot soup still with smiles on their faces.

I didn’t stop for long just grabbing some pineapple and a drinks refill before continuing climbing to the summit at 24km.

When I reached the top I felt relieved that my last big hill climb was behind me, but sad that I was nearly half way through the final stage. During this race there has been many highs and lows and I have learnt so much about myself, met some wonderful people and have fully immersed myself in the adventure, one that I am already looking to replicate by taking on another stage race, these thoughts filled my head as I soaked up the downhill. The first part was grassy paths through steep sided gulley’s, which in the dry would have been great fun, but the rain had made them like ice rinks and together with a group I cautiously made my way down these steep parts. Once we hit fire road, I enjoyed the sweeping corners singing songs with the word rain in them, as I made my way down to try and keep my spirits high as the rain tumbled from the sky.

The feed station at 32km came with a very welcome hot tea and waffles. I had two cups and carried on. Just up the road was my Dad, like a hot water bottle angel, he stood with dry gloves and arm warmers. I have never been so happy to pull on a cosy warm layer and this really helped get me up what was now my final climb in the Alps!

At the top of the climb Michelle was waiting huddled with Tom (her boyfriend). We finished the final downhill section together down some rocky singletrack which I really enjoyed. Now we were not as high, it was warm and damp, a little bit like a summer in Wales, so I felt really at home whizzing down the trails looking for the lines which avoided any slippy roots.

Racing into the back roads of the town, full of puddles and pot holes and through the final finishing archway was incredible, I felt like I was dreaming. After thinking of this moment for the last 10 months, visualising what it would feel like to have accomplished my dream it was difficult to describe how I felt, relieved to have finished climbing mountains for a while, exhilarated to have pushed my body out of the comfort zone both in descending and climbing and overwhelmed to now be able to say I completed the toughest Stage race in Europe! WE DID IT!

Thank you to all my family and friends who supported me. Thank you to Specialized for letting me use the Era, Thanks to Bike Fixers, Grip Grab, Food for Thought and Dogtag for supporting us on this journey of a life-time.

Day six started with some nerves, I was worried about how my back would be after yesterday and felt rather emotional about being so close to the finish line.

Luckily sleep, Pilates and painkillers seemed to work okay and after the congestion created by the downhill start the long climb was okay and I felt alright if I stayed at a steady pace. Michelle is a better climber than me and at this point had disappeared into the distance; it was nice to see her walking back down to help me with my bike on a steeper section when I was struggling to push up. In a team event it is these little moments of support that keep you going.

After the feed station the fun stuff began, with an enduro challenge section through the forest on steep woodland single-track it was challenging yet fun, you had to keep an eye on your line to avoid boulders hidden in the leaves.

I enjoyed this section a lot and felt good by the end of it. Our path then stayed mainly off road and wiggled through valleys with short sharp climbs and descents, one of the highlights was riding through a very long dark tunnel where the temperature was so cold it took my breath away. It was really eerie riding from bright sunlight into such a dark place. It seemed to go on forever! A small group of us stayed close together and you could tell no one wanted to be alone in this tunnel!

The path then continued to wind through apple groves and vineyards until the last final descent which was more like a scramble than a bike track! We had to carefully make our way down the rock face with our bikes it was super steep!

My body is handling the long days well so far as long as I stick to a steady pace and refuelling regularly before I came away i asked Sally Bigham for advice which has been absolutely brillaint as I have been eating little and often fuelling with between 70 and 90g carbohydrate an hour to keep my energy levels high.

So far my bike had been amazing I changed my brake pads yesterday but apart from that no mechanical issues bar a few jumpy gears. Thanks Specialized.

The climbing has been a lot tougher than I expected but having never bike more than 4 days in a row before and the fact I live in such a flat country its been hard to train for such monster climbs, I am really pleased to make it to day 6! Bring on the final stage I can almost taste Lake Garda and Prossecco!

Today was tough! I didn’t get the best start as my chain jammed 800m from the start once I had fixed it took ages for me to get going again because of the sheer number of bikers squeezing down this small Italian road.

This bad luck continued throughout the day, my back which has been fine for the last four days, really hurt sending pains down my leg and into my foot, not ideal on a day when you have 3,000m to climb!

I kept it steady and tried to break the day down into sections. I would not think further than the next water point or saddle summit this helped a little but it was one of those days when both mentally and physically I felt pushed to the extreme and had to dig deep to just keep going in the right direction.

By the top of Passo Gavia at 2,600m I was really struggling and there still seemed so much left in front of me. I got off and stretched out my back while Michelle kindly waited this seemed to ease the pain in my leg and foot.

Michelle and I then descended down the road to the Enduro challenge which was a mixture of dusty steep trail and rock gardens. I have been really enjoying the singletrack its been such good fun and pushed me out of my comfort zone. Today I got over confident at one point and ended scrapping my ankle down the rock which was not pleasant and reminded me that I needed to go careful with two days left to complete the race.

After the enduro challenge the route climbed steeply once more. By the feed station at 45km I was again in a lot of pain and felt overwhelmed by the fact there was still over 40km to go until the finish, I just didn’t see how I could keep going. It is in these moments we all find out the strength of our character, it was a lonely climb to the top of the pass and I battled a lot of negative feelings in those 5km!

I was relieved to see Michelle at the top who then helped me with my bike up a few steep climbs as she could tell I was in trouble.

The path was undulating and continued to climb further we passed a emergency helicopter and then were rather shocked when we turned the next corner to see a cyclist ready to be air lifted out, it put into perspective how even though my body was hurting I was still able to ride.

We pushed on once more every kilometre seemed to go by so slowly I was relieved to see the finish!